Sci-fi Column by Gavin Grant

Gentlemen of the Road is the kind of book I would have said no one writes anymore except that Michael Chabon has done just that. Chabon is an enthusiastic genre multitasker who has written everything from mysteries (The Yiddish Policeman's Union) to young adult novels (Summerland), and who has now turned out a rollicking adventure that could have fit comfortably in Thrilling Wonder Stories...

Sci-fi Column by Gavin Grant

Like his previous books Stamping Butterflies and 9Tail Fox, Jon Courtenay Grimwood's End of the World Blues is another novel that blends the latest physics theories with the feeling of dislocation from modern-day life. In the near future, Kit Nouveau is successfully hiding from the fact that after 15 years in Tokyo, his life isn't great. He's addicted to drugs, his bar is a hangout for bikers...

Sci-fi Column by Gavin Grant

Pirate Freedom, the latest from longtime critical favorite Gene Wolfe, is the confessional tale of a time-slipping, fighting priest, Chris, born some years from now in Cuba who drifts back a couple of centuries and becomes a pirate complete with a gun-toting bride. Wolfe doesn't hold back on the extreme violence of pirate life, although Chris steps back a couple of times to point out...